if you were given much…what? what would be expected?

What’s wrong with this phrase, "To whom much is given, much is required"?

You can read all about it over at One Language Log Plaza: here, where the discussion is of the tangled history of a mangled maxim.  Do you think I’m just a bit whacko to really love this stuff?

If you want to say it coherently, here are some options given in the afore mentioned article.

To whom much is given, of him much will be exacted.
To whom much is given, of him much will be required.
To whom much is given, of him much is required.
To whom much is given, of him indeed much is required.
   
To whom much is given, of him shall much be required. (4)
   
To whom much is given, of them much is required.
   
To whom much is given, of them much will be required.
   
To whom much is given, from him much will be required.
To whom much is given, from them much shall be required.
Unto whom much is given, from him shall much be required. 
Unto whom much is given, of them there will be much required.
From him to whom much is given, much is due.
From him to whom much is given, much will be expected.   
Of him to whom much is given, much will be required.

Of them, to whom much is given, much shall be required.
Of those, to whom much is given, much will be required.
   
He to whom much is given, of him is much required.

other versions:

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded
 From everyone who has been given much, much will be required
To each man to whom much is given, much shall be asked of him
To every one to whom much was given, much shall be required from him
To whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required
To whomsoever much has been given, from him much will be required
Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required
Everyone
to whom much is given, from him much will be required
Everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required 
When someone has been given much, much will be required in return
Much is required from those to whom much is given   
If God has been generous with you, he will expect you to serve him well
Great gifts mean great responsibilities

Whatever way you say it, as Mr. Liberman proposes, it oughta be true.

Jeesshk

1. Mom in and out of the hospital last week: all’s fine-ish.  Her hospital, Good Sam in San Jose, recently opened a new floor for oncology in which all patients get a single room – and I cannot tell you what a blessing this is.  Note to nurses, if the patient is finally sleeping comfortably, is it really necessary to awaken her at 2-flippin-30 in the morning to weigh her?  And no, 4:30 a.m. the next day is not that much better.

2. Mom started a new chemo drug today, Doxil, to which, we are grateful, she wasn’t allergic.  It’s always an adventure when she has a new treatment… will there be fatigue? Will she lose her hair, Will she tolerate this one?

3. Today, I finally got around to ordering my business cards for work/ministry.  I had to get my supervisor’s signature on the request.  He signed it and then, in other news, reminded me that I have my performance evaluation with him tomorrow.  When asked if I should hold the business card request till after, he laughed.  Grin.

4. This pattern is a hoot to knit.  I read about it here first and then couldn’t wait to cast on.
    4.b.
   ar·go·sy NOUN:

pl. 
  ar·go·sies

1. Nautical
      
   1. A large merchant ship.
   2. A fleet of ships.

    

2. A rich source or supply:
         an argosy of adventure lore.
3. The cutest little scarf pattern.

5.  On the way home from doctor’s office today, I thought to myself several things.  Among them:

• Maybe I should turn off here and head over to pick up my prescriptions… no, better get Mom home and dinner’d.
• Would it be easier to go through a drive-through than heat up the penne pasta and meatballs?  Nah.
• "Light’s green, take the foot off the brake, slowly move it to the gas pedal, look in rearview mirror… Uh oh… that bumper is coming close and quickly…Oh Sh…." 
  • Yep, we’ve been creamed.

6. Officer K. C. of the San Jose police is a very nice fellow.  The young woman who ploughed into us experienced her very first accident and while the person she hit (me) and the person she made the person she hit hit were both quite nice people, it really stinks having your first accident (for which you are at fault) at 18 in an SUV loaner from the dealership where you’ve left your car only several hundred yards from the dealership and ,to add insult to injury, (no one was hurt, actually, so not literal injury!) she starts work at that very dealership in just one week.  Sheesh.

Hey, happy Monday, everyone!

a b c’s of rc 4 me

A Catholic Meme…  (it made the rounds a while ago, but I’ve been otherwise occupied.)

[A is for apparitions – your favorite]: Our Lady of Guadalupe who reminds that the poor are the first among us.

[B is for Bible – the one you read most often]: NRSV

[C
is for Charism – the one you would most like to have]: Assuming I have the one I need (the Dominican charism), I’m content.  Preaching in my life takes many forms, the most common one is of presence.  In the being with someone, I am sharing what I know is the Good News of God’s love.  Being with and being for another.

[D is for Doctor of the Church – your favorite]: St. Catherine of Siena.

[E is for Essential Prayer – What’s yours?]: "Glory to you, O, Lord." 

[F is for Favorite Hymn]: How Can I Keep from Singing

[G
is for Gospel – your favorite author?]: Gotta say John.  I love the mystery and the intimacy.

[H is for Holy Communion – How would you describe it, using one word?]: Grace

[I
is for Inspiration – When do you feel most inspired by God?]: In the natural world, with natural people, naturally.

[J
is for Jesus – When did you first meet Him?]: Long before I was born.  And I’m still meeting him each and every day.

[K is for Kindness – Which saint or person has most inspired you by their kindness?]: Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero. Thomas Merton.

[L is for liturgical year – your favorite time in the liturgical cycle?]: The Three Days.

[M
is for Mary, the Mother of God – Your favorite term of endearment for
her]: Mary.

[N is for New Testament – Your favorite passage]: "Say the Word, and I shall be healed."

[O is for Old Testament – Your favorite Book here]: The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

[P is for Psalms – your favorite]: 121

[Q is for quote – saint quote]:

One of the most important – and most neglected- elements in
the beginnings of the interior life is the ability to respond to reality, to
see the value and the beauty in ordinary things, to come alive to the splendor
that is all around us in the creatures of God. We do not see these things because we have withdrawn from them. – Merton, Art and Spirituality, 425.

 

[R
is for rosary – your favorite mysteries]: The ones I pray before going to sleep.

[S is for Saint – the one you turn to in time of need – not including the Blessed Virgin Mary]: St. Anthony, o finder of lost things!

[T is for Tradition – your favorite Catholic tradition]: Though this changes over time, right now I love the seven altars of repose pilgrimage on Holy Thursday.

[U
is for university – Which Catholic University have you attended or are
currently attending?]: I’ve been a "public" for most of my life.  But have been a student at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis as well as a M.A., Theology student at the Graduate Theological Union, in Berkeley, California.  At which institution I am ABT.

[V
is for Virtue – the one you wish you had]: Diligence (Latin, industria) (ethics, opposes sloth, Latin acedia) — A zealous and careful nature in one’s actions and work. Decisive work ethic. Acting energetically without excessive reflection.

[W
is for Way of the Cross – Which station can you most relate to?]: The 15th Station.

[X is for Xaverian Brothers – Do you know who
they are?]: Not so much.

[Y is for your favorite Catholic
musician]: Jaime Cortez and/or Hermana Glenda

[Z is for Zeal for the faith]: Rather Zeal for my God.

the closest I’ve gotten to sweet in a while

               

Natty made me do it.  🙂

I’m not eating no sugar coated, candy goodness… so this is as close as I’m getting to an M&M this year.  Isn’t she cute…. she’s supposed to be me in MM form.  Tee hee.  You can make your own here.

pop quiz of life

Doug Savage is a genius and I am not.

five for friday

Haven’t you heard?  Tuesday is the new Friday…. to whit:

Friday Five: Countdown Edition

Please count down five living people you
admire and tell us a little something about why they make your list.
These could be famous people or people you know personally.

5…4…3…2…1

Sarah Vowell:

…some days I carry
my sense of humor around like a picket sign. 

and,

Like

Lincoln

, I would like to
believe the ballot is stronger than the bullet. Then again, he said that before
he got shot.  The Partly Cloudy Patriot.

Nevada Barr:

Since I cannot realistically seek Him in the afterlife or the cosmos, I will keep my eye out for Him in the neighborhood, try to be ever vigilant, assuming that everyone from the pizza delivery girl to the guy with the obnoxious all-terrain vehicle could be Him, or at least of Him.  I will cultivate blessings and grace in the dirt of my garden, the words of my friends, the eyes of my dogs.  Then, when I die, should I fail to sneak through those pearly gates, I shall at the very least, already have had a small taste of the love and joy said to abide there. Seeking Enlightenment Hat by Hat: A Skeptic’s Path to Religion

Barbara Kingsolver:

I’d like to stake my pride on a nation that consistently inspires
rather than bullies, that brings unconditional generosity to the table,
and that dispenses justice over the inevitable bad deal with diplomacy
and humor rather than with more bad deals. If this were the humane face
we showed the world and the model we brought to working with it, every
time, I believe our children might eventually be able to manage with a
military budget the size of Iceland’s.  Small Wonder

 

Anne Lamott:

I heard Marianne Williamson
say once that when you ask God into your life, you think he or she is going to
come into your psychic house, look around, and see that you just need a little
cleaning – and so you go along for the first six months thinking how nice life
is now that God is there. Then you look
out the window one day and see that there’s a wrecking ball outside. It turns out that God actually thinks your
whole foundation is shot and you’re going to have to start over from scratch. Bird by
Bird

Annie Dillard:

If God does not cause everything that happens, does God cause
anything that happens? Is God completely out of the loop?

Sometimes
God moves loudly, as if spinning to another place like ball lightning. God is,
oddly, personal; this God knows. Sometimes en route, dazzlingly or dimly, he
shows and edge of himself to souls who seek him, and the people who bear those
souls, marveling, know it, and see the skies carousing around them, and watch
cells stream and multiply in green leaves. He does not give as the world gives;
he leads invisibly over many years, or he wallops for thirty seconds at a time.
He may touch a mind, too, making a loud sound, or a mind may feel the rim of
his mind as he nears. Such experiences are gifts to beginners. “Later on,” a
Hasid master said, “you don’t see these things anymore.” (Having seen, people
of varying cultures turn—for reasons unknown, and by a mechanism
unimaginable—to aiding and serving the afflicted and poor.)  For The Time Being

 

round ups and up around

UP AROUND my neck of the woods….

1. I have a rather distressing habit of knitting items and sending them out into the world without taking a picture of them.  I love pictures.  I love knitted things.  You would think I’d put the two together.  I even have a journal, "ChrisKnits" which is supposed to house photos of finished objects (FOs).  It’s remarkably empty.  Sigh.
2. I’m a member of a group of sister bloggers.  We can be found here.   Today I had the honor of rounding up our members and reporting on their recent posts.  It was awesome.  They are awesome.  I know we aren’t the only sisterbloggers in the world.  I would love to meet more.  Do you know any?
3. Susan Rose and Natty both have fancy aristocratic names on their blogs.  Now I do too.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Reverend Lady Christine the Blue of Fritterton on the Marshes Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

 

day and number

five by five on the sugar-free lifestyle.  Whoo Hoo!

it’s friday… i’ve missed a few

So here’s this weeks Friday Five, compliments of RevGalBlogPals and yours truly.

Friday Five: Birthday, Redux

Yours truly had a birthday this week, and while we’ve done the birthday thing before, I’m going to do my best to come up with new questions…

1. "It’s my party and I’ll [blank] if I want to…"
Favorite way to celebrate your birthday (dinner with family? party with friends? a day in solitude?)

A nice lunch with a couple of close friends and knitting.  Dinner or breakfast with fambly.  Nothing fancy.  I do like me a good Angel Food cake, though. 

2. "You say it’s your birthday… it’s my birthday too, yeah…"
Do you share your birthday with someone famous? (Click here to find out!)

Why, yes, yes I do.  The  Creator of all this.

3. "Lordy Lordy look who’s forty…"
Milestone birthdays:
a) just like any other birthday–they’re just numbers, people.
b) a good opportunity to look back/take stock
c) enjoy the black balloons–I’ll be hiding under a pile of coats until the day is over
d) some combination of the above, or something else entirely.

I love birthdays.  Mine and everyone else’s.  I used to be really, really consistent in getting cards and gifts out.  Now, not so much.  But, I do say a birthday prayer for all those whose birthdays I know.   I take each of mine as an opportunity and a celebration.  (see I got a new halo, craftlight for my birthday this year.)  

4. "Happy birthday, dear… Customer…"
Have you ever been sung to in a restaurant? Fun or cringe-worthy?

I totally used to think this was fun (loved getting the Chili’s hat); but lately, I find it just dull and perfunctory.  Oh well.

5. "Take my birthday–please"
Tell
me one advantage and one disadvantage about your particular birthday
(e.g. birthday in the summer–never had to go to school; birthday near
Christmas–the dreaded joint presents)
EDITED TO ADD: This could
also simply be something you like/dislike about your birthday (e.g. I
like sharing a birthday with my best friend, etc.).

Oh, there are no disadvantages about my birthday.  While it’s in the month of December, some might say that Christmas overshadows it.  It’s in the first part of the month, however, so there hasn’t ever been a year when I haven’t been delighted to celebrate my birthday for the whole month and to share it with Jesus, whose birthday is the TRUE reason I celebrate anything at all.

and so the crash begins

Today is day two of a year of sugar-free me.  While I generally don’t even begin formulating "resolutions" much before January 15, this year, it was clear when the clock struck midnight what I needed/wanted/hoped to do.

I’ve gone sugar-free for the year.  The whole year.  I’m going to do it one day at a time, of course (we don’t actually get any more than that anyway.)   Here are my guidelines:

1.        I’m just saying "no, thank you" to processed sugar and all her addictive products (i.e., candy, etc.)
2.         "Nope" also to the artificial variety of sugar (diet coke, etc.)
3.         If it’s in the top four ingredients as any variation of sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, syrupy corn, or corny syrup, it’s not to be imbibed, ingested, masticated, digested or otherwise put in my body.

The exceptions I make are for peanut butter and yogurt.  Both of which are a dietary, medicinal, if-i’m-gonna-survive-this, need.

Several years ago a friend of mine challenged, dared, ridiculed, um, invited me to consider giving up sugar and her artificial sister for Lent.  I did.  It was awesome.  And it was the first indication I had that the whole eating sugar thing for me was/is an all or nothing proposition.   Since then, I’ve done it every Lent.  And continued it the year I lost 35 pounds on Weight Watchers.  Ah, but then I had a birthday.  And a final profession.  And, hey, it was a cake celebrating me… and then it was, well, other stuff.

Another dear friend (Hi, TOR), mentioned the books Potatoes, Not Prozac and The Sugar Addicts Guide to Total Recovery both by Kathleen DesMaisons.  While many people may not understand it, some folks have a biology that is "sugar sensitive".  I believe I fall into this category.  And so, this year I’ve decided to take care of myself in this new way.  It’s a one year trial.  And it’s a day at a time.  Maybe I’ll make it, (right now I’m thinking I will – let’s check back in next week.) maybe I won’t.  Yesterday was fine.  Today was also fine. 

Tonight… well, tonight I can feel the "crash" kicking in.  I knew it would happen.  I know it’s going to be a challenge.  And for me, knowing is enough to help me hang on.  The crash resembles a short-term depression… and a bit of anxiety.  And I’ve had it before.  Emotionally it’s challenging.  I’ve found, however if I talk it through.  If I share what I’m experiencing with another person, I do pretty well.  I make it through.  And the increased water intake, the increased fruit intake, the increased "taking care of myself" all lead to a healthier, happier, more emotionally stable and more energetic me.  And that’s who I’m going for this year.  I hope you get to meet her someday down the road.

This isn’t my only "new practice" for this new year.  But it’s bound to be the most important one, I think. 

And you?  Do you have any new practices?  Blessings, luck and good will to you on this second day of the new year.